Well, I am having a hard time of it so far. The first day I was just a wee bit hungry. The second day I was starving and had a splitting headache all day. Today I just had a headache all day.
Yesterday was my first day working while on the diet, and I had to do an early shift. I was SO tired all day long! And SO hungry! I was looking at muffins that I normally wouldn't care for and think, "Oh, that looks so good!" When I made customers drinks, even an almond soya latte sounded good. The only thing in all of Starbucks that I can have is Calm or Refresh tea. By the end of the day I was so sick of tea!
I hadn't realised how much the caffeine I had on my shift curbed my appetite until yesterday. I normally would not bring anything to eat at work. If I got hungry I might have a croissant, but I normally didn't get hungry. A strawberries and cream frapp would fill me up for lunch. Healthy, I know. But yesterday I was starving by the end of the day. I brought a wee container of pistachios and was munching on them for strength anytime I went down to do some paperwork. That was all I had. By the end of the day I was sick of pistachios...and tea!
It was a little better today. I didn't have so much of a splitting headache, though I really banged my head up good. I was cleaning the pastry case and I bent down to wipe down the sliding glass which I had taken out of the case. I knocked my head really hard on the metal tracks in the case where the glass goes. It was like in the cartoons where everything goes black for a split second and you see stars. I thought I was going to pass out for a minute it hurt so bad. I think I asked my coworker if I was bleeding or something. He said I had a DENT in my head! Well, it's gone the other way now and had made a nice nickle sized lump with a red line on my forehead. Didn't help my headache.
Anyways, back to detox. I really horded the snack foods because I am such a snacker and was worried that I would get the munchies all the time. Well, I've got plenty of snacks now, but I'm having trouble with meals. Last night I made a nice bean chili and added a bit of TVP. I cheated though because I didn't plan ahead to soak the beans. That's ok. I was in a bit of a panic, though, because I can't think of what to make for meals! I think I just need to become more familiar with what I CAN eat (rather than forcusing on what I can't). I decided to make some Spanish rice tonight (MMM...it's simmering just now!) but I didn't have any jalapenos. So I went down to Margiotta's (I SO love having a shop just around the corner). I looked around a bit (avoiding the meat section) to see if they could give me any inspiration for other meals. I was looking at the pasta sauce. I was thinking of the Ragu I have and home and thought "Oh, yeah. I can have that." I checked the ingredients and I think I'm clear. I already bought some rice and millet pasta, so I think that will be our next meal.
Everyone who did detox said they felt great. So, I'm hoping it will kick in soon. I think it was harder having to work during the first days. If the weekend is as nice as today was I am going to get out for a walk.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Detox
I have been threatening myself to do a detox diet for some time now, but I have not had the courage. Well, I decided that probably the only time I could get myself to do it (at least for the first time) is during lent. Today is the first day.
This will be the most difficult lent I have ever observed. This diet is basically vegan, wheat-free, sugar-free, caffeine (!!)-free. When I was on holiday I had gotten off caffeine, but it seems that since I have been back for one week I have become addicted again as I am nursing a headache just now. I am not looking forward to the next 2 days where I will be opening without my latte.
Anyways, some things I CAN have which I will be taking advantage of: rice or almond milk, rice or millet pasta, tofu (not a big fan in the past, but what can I do!?), TVP (haven't tried yet, I'll find out how it is), wheat-free rye bread, egg substitute. I am supposed to eat as much as I can as raw as possible and try to buy organic. I will have to plan ahead to soak my pulses overnight and try to cook my veg as little as possible. I am happy that I can eat fruit, but since we got here I have not bought a ton because it is so expensive and goes so quickly. I do want to join a box scheme, but my schedule is so sporadic and I will not be here the same day every week to accept it. I have already been to the healthfood store twice to stock up and have a delivery coming Friday. :)
Well, we will see how it goes. I am 9-stone now. I don't have a LOT to lose, but I'm curious to see how much I lose by the end.
Oh, by the way, I am not detoxing for the purpose of losing weight. That will just be one of the added perks.
Oh, and if you are reading this Michelle, don't worry. We will still have Chicago-style deep-dish next week. ;)
This will be the most difficult lent I have ever observed. This diet is basically vegan, wheat-free, sugar-free, caffeine (!!)-free. When I was on holiday I had gotten off caffeine, but it seems that since I have been back for one week I have become addicted again as I am nursing a headache just now. I am not looking forward to the next 2 days where I will be opening without my latte.
Anyways, some things I CAN have which I will be taking advantage of: rice or almond milk, rice or millet pasta, tofu (not a big fan in the past, but what can I do!?), TVP (haven't tried yet, I'll find out how it is), wheat-free rye bread, egg substitute. I am supposed to eat as much as I can as raw as possible and try to buy organic. I will have to plan ahead to soak my pulses overnight and try to cook my veg as little as possible. I am happy that I can eat fruit, but since we got here I have not bought a ton because it is so expensive and goes so quickly. I do want to join a box scheme, but my schedule is so sporadic and I will not be here the same day every week to accept it. I have already been to the healthfood store twice to stock up and have a delivery coming Friday. :)
Well, we will see how it goes. I am 9-stone now. I don't have a LOT to lose, but I'm curious to see how much I lose by the end.
Oh, by the way, I am not detoxing for the purpose of losing weight. That will just be one of the added perks.
Oh, and if you are reading this Michelle, don't worry. We will still have Chicago-style deep-dish next week. ;)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
So glad I was up!
It is not uncommon for me to stay up too late on nights Josh is doing an overnight, such as last night. So then it is likely you will find me still in bed around 8 the next morning. Well, for some reason I was up a little after 7 today! Good thing, too. At around 7:50 I saw the Royal Mail truck drive up. They had a parcel for me! It was something I ordered and was expecting, but...7:50AM?! AM?! I did recieve a parcel a couple of weeks ago at 8am. And on a similar note, there is construction going on across the alley from us. They don't mind mind making a lot of noise at 7:30 on a Saturday morning.
Monday, February 19, 2007
My Mom
Steph posted a really fun picture of her mom and encouraged us to post pics of our moms, too. Well, I think it's supposed to be for those who are moms, but I wanted to play, too. :)The first pic is a little before we moved from Chicago to Edinburgh. The second (with my brother, too!) is before we came back to Edinburgh when we visited home last April.
My mom is really fab. She has been so supportive of her only daughter being swept away by some boy to live in another country for who knows how long. When I felt lonely and sad she sent me a box of yarn for something to do on long, dark winter nights. She spends too much money sending carepackages filled with goodies that we miss, and other things we forgot we missed! :) She has had to endure countless questions from family and friends about what we are doing and why she let us do it. She doesn't take the criticism others give about our decision, but patiently explains again and again why we are doing it - even when she may not be completely sure. :) She reads my blog and posts comments. She enjoys my pictures. She helps me support Janelle. And one thing I appreciate immencely: she is a good mother-in-law to my husband.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Sun!
You will all be happy to know that the sun is now shining full and bright through our french doors! We are going to celebrate by cleaning our windows.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Another plea
I posted a few posts back about Janelle and the money I have been raising for her to go to a better school. Thank you so much for the people who have responded. I am still in need of over half the amount. If you have been thinking you would like to help, please click on the 'donate' button to the left of the screen (below the yellow chat box) and you can donate through paypal. If you do not have paypal and would like to help, please contact me and we can figure something out.
Obviously this is an ongoing project. If you feel that you would like to sponsor Janelle once a month or on some sort of regular basis, that would be fantastic! I do keep track of how much has been given to me for her throughout the year and when there is a decent sum of money I wire it to the family.
Janelle's parents are so greatful for the help and they send me emails and pictures every so often that I can put on the yahoo group. Janelle is also aware that there are people who have never even met her that are taking an interest in her future.
I know we are inuntated with people asking for donations every day, but the thing I like about this is that ALL of the money (I pay for the wiring fee myself) will go to a specific person. No administration fees. I personally know the family and that they are wonderful people. I do enjoy 'watching' Janelle learn and grow.
Obviously this is an ongoing project. If you feel that you would like to sponsor Janelle once a month or on some sort of regular basis, that would be fantastic! I do keep track of how much has been given to me for her throughout the year and when there is a decent sum of money I wire it to the family.
Janelle's parents are so greatful for the help and they send me emails and pictures every so often that I can put on the yahoo group. Janelle is also aware that there are people who have never even met her that are taking an interest in her future.
I know we are inuntated with people asking for donations every day, but the thing I like about this is that ALL of the money (I pay for the wiring fee myself) will go to a specific person. No administration fees. I personally know the family and that they are wonderful people. I do enjoy 'watching' Janelle learn and grow.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Happy Valentine's Day!
I know it's a day early. Today actually marks five years and five months of marriage.
We were never ones for celebrating V Day. At least not on the day. We would normally just cook a meal together or go out to eat on a different night. It is so expensive to go out to eat here that we never go out for dinner. We went to a place for lunch today called Buffalo Grill. It is sort of a Tex-Mex-ish style restaurant in our neighborhood. It was nice to eat at a REAL restuarant for once rather than just a cafe. Anyways, I had a hankering for a good burger, and it was good! They served it with fries (it actually said 'fries' on the menu!) and they actually had American mustard! Josh kept trying to talk me into getting dessert, but I'm just as happy having dessert at home, which is cheaper and tastes better.
After lunch Josh took me to the local flower shop to buy me some flowers. AAWWWW! I think he probably wanted me to get a bouquet of something, but I picked out a stem of lilies (which is what I really wanted when I got my tulips last week) and 3 gerberas (my favourite). I can't wait until the lilies start to smell the flat up.
It was such a nice day of bumming around town and spending time together. Now Josh is off to work and I am settling in for another night alone. Thanks for the nice time, Sweetie!
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Dishes!
I'm sure you call can sympathise with me that dishes just never end! Doing dishes is a bit more of a chore here than it was in the States. I have never had the convenience of a dish washer, but I did have the convenience of 2 sinks. You know, you either fill one with soapy water and rinse in the other, or you pile the dirty dishes in one and wash in the other. Most kitchens here just have one sink. Oh, I forgot to mention that we also have no hot water in the kitchen. Well, the hot water just trickles out of the hot tap (remember, we don't have mixer taps) Here is how I have to do the dishes:
1. Fill electric kettle with water and heat up.
2. Put dish soap in washing up bucket and run some cold water into it.
3. Start putting utensils, plates, and bowls into bucket.
4. Pour hot water into bucket.
5. Fill kettle again and heat.
6. Clean out sink.
7. Put up foldable IKEA dish rack and utensil holder.
8. Pour more hot water into bucket and in other things that may not have been able to get rinsed well enough since we do not have hot water.
9. Wash what I was able to fit into bucket and place it in the sink.
10. Put more things into bucket.
11. Rinse everything from the sink under FREEZING COLD water and put on dish rack.
12. Warm hands in dish water.
13. Repeat steps 9-12 as often as needed.
Since we only have the one sink we have to put all of our dirty dishes on the counter. We don't have much counter space so dishes have to be done quite often. If I am doing any cooking or baking I have to do dishes in order to have space, then I have to do dishes again because I just dirtied a bunch.
I am so sick of dishes right now.
1. Fill electric kettle with water and heat up.
2. Put dish soap in washing up bucket and run some cold water into it.
3. Start putting utensils, plates, and bowls into bucket.
4. Pour hot water into bucket.
5. Fill kettle again and heat.
6. Clean out sink.
7. Put up foldable IKEA dish rack and utensil holder.
8. Pour more hot water into bucket and in other things that may not have been able to get rinsed well enough since we do not have hot water.
9. Wash what I was able to fit into bucket and place it in the sink.
10. Put more things into bucket.
11. Rinse everything from the sink under FREEZING COLD water and put on dish rack.
12. Warm hands in dish water.
13. Repeat steps 9-12 as often as needed.
Since we only have the one sink we have to put all of our dirty dishes on the counter. We don't have much counter space so dishes have to be done quite often. If I am doing any cooking or baking I have to do dishes in order to have space, then I have to do dishes again because I just dirtied a bunch.
I am so sick of dishes right now.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Our Town
I mentioned my walk a couple of posts back. I just wanted to share a few pictures. I took some photos of our neighborhood and at the botanics. I did not feel very creative, so this is more of a documentary. Of course I forgot to take pictures of our road! I wanted to take a picture of the alley I walk through to get to work. Forgot that too. It's cute. Cobblestone road, stone buildings
This clock tower is down the road from us. We here the bell chime every hour. I quite like it. I think it is quaint. It was funny when we first moved in, though, that the time was 11 minutes slow. Then someone changed it and it was 8 minutes fast. I think it's right now, but we don't always hear it since it is not warm enough to have our doors open.
This clock tower is down the road from us. We here the bell chime every hour. I quite like it. I think it is quaint. It was funny when we first moved in, though, that the time was 11 minutes slow. Then someone changed it and it was 8 minutes fast. I think it's right now, but we don't always hear it since it is not warm enough to have our doors open.
Another view of the clock tower. On my way home from work.
Stockbridge is the name of the community we live in. I haven't read enough about the history of Stockbridge, but apparently it was a meat and fish market. We do have a butch and a fishmonger (and a cheese monger, too! I just like to say that word). The name of the road I work on is called Baker's Place. I like that because there is an Italian bakery just next door to us (and the cheese monger is next to them!).
This is at the botanics. You might not be able to see it very well, but this frost covered lawn is littered with crocuses. It was pretty, but it made me so sad to think of all of the blossoming trees and daffodils that I was so excited to see a couple of weeks ago now covered in frost.
The wildlife was abundant. There were loads of birds. You could tell the squirrels are used to being fed. Anytime I approached a group of them they would run up to me (just about 2 feet from my shoes!), sit up, and look at me like "Did you bring me something?"
It was so peaceful there. I love being this close to botanic gardens! The walk is very not peaceful as I have to walk on main thoroughfares the whole way, but the peace is instantanious. During the day the park is just filled with moms (or nannies) and their kids feeding ducks, pensioners getting in a nice walk, and photographers. The gardens are walled so the cars wizzing around outside sound like they are on some distant highway. One of my favourite parts is the rock garden. There are waterfalls. Even though manmade waterfalls are kind of cheesey, it is still relaxing. The sun was shining. Even though the thermometers probably read 38 degrees, when the sun is shining in a clear sky it warms you up so much. I was thinking how nice it would be to sit down with a cuppa! - that's 'a cup of tea' :)
I was so inspired to buy a plant but I couldn't find anything that I liked in the shop. On my way back home I stopped by the florist and picked up some tulips. They are so beautiful and they really say "SPRING" to me! My heart fills with joy every time I look at them.
I will be putting more pics on flickr.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Success!
Modified to add photo. Be sure to look back a few posts for the photos I was finally able to add.After several tries with different recipes I was finally successful today with a loaf of bread! It rised (raise? rose?) properly and everything. I haven't sliced into it yet. We will try it with dinner tonight. I am making stroganoff in the crock pot. Josh will have salmon since I know he doesn't like stroganoff (and I don't like seafood). I don't usually make different dinners, but I had such a hankerin' for stroganoff and I don't want to make Josh eat what I know he doesn't like. He's normally a pretty good sport. Salmon will be easy in the grill.
We just had our dinner and it was delicious! (the dinner as well as the bread)
Fab carepackage!
I was so excited to recieve a parcel today. Especially since most of the mail (when we get mail) has been for our landlord or former tenants. :(
Some of our friends from our church in Chicago sent us a carepackage. They sent us things we miss like poptarts and twizzlers and some extras like stuff from Trader Joe's (aw, I miss that place!) and...um...tissues. Yeah, they don't have that here. :) Just kidding!
We also got a CD of the men's choir that Josh was in at Moody (listening to that now) and a barista doll. HA! I laughed so hard. I'd post a picture of everything, but I still can't post pics (I also already dug into the twizzlers).
Thanks, guys!
Some of our friends from our church in Chicago sent us a carepackage. They sent us things we miss like poptarts and twizzlers and some extras like stuff from Trader Joe's (aw, I miss that place!) and...um...tissues. Yeah, they don't have that here. :) Just kidding!
We also got a CD of the men's choir that Josh was in at Moody (listening to that now) and a barista doll. HA! I laughed so hard. I'd post a picture of everything, but I still can't post pics (I also already dug into the twizzlers).
Thanks, guys!
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Another foodie post
I should first make note that this is my 200th post. Woo-hoo!
I am alone tonight. Josh is on one of his overnight shifts. I usually like to get settled for the evening with a cajun chicken breast made in the grill and a movie to make myself so tired I wont have a problem sleeping alone. Alas! We have been through the mid-winter blahs and the many DVDs mom and dad have been so kind to send us (as well as the ones Sam and Peter loaned us) were watched long ago. And Anne of Green Gables is on loan. *sigh* I guess I will have to READ or something. :)
Another thing I am making tradition on these solo nights is I try to bake at least one thing. Last week I baked chocolate muffins with dried cherries. Good fresh out of the oven, but a wee bit too dry after they cool. The week before I baked rye bread. I'll just say the weather was so nice the next day that we went to feed the duck. :) Tonight I tried my hand (for the second time) at pretzles. OH! I didn't tell you about the first time!
So I made the dough and everything. Realised immediately (well, after I mixed all of the ingredients) that the recipe called for instant yeast. I have not even seen instant yeast here. Since it didn't say in the instructions, I did not allow time for the yeast to become active in warm water. I didn't want to waste the ingredients, so I let it rise for a very LOOOOONG time. It did rise, but not amazingly well.
I then had to divide the dough and roll the bits to make ropes and fashion them into pretzles. Here is when I realised an even graver mistake than the yeast. I was to put 3 TBS baking soda in a skillet of water to boil (par boil?) the pretzles before baking them. I put it in the pretzles! And I doubled the recipe, so there was 6 TBS of baking soda in the pretzle dough!!
Again, I did not want to waste the dough and rolling the dough was such hard work (especially since it didn't rise much) so I went ahead and made them just to see how they would turn out. They looked pretty good and they smelled wonderful!
I had to pop onto my American Expats forum to see if I would die from so much baking soda. They know everything there! :) The initial bite was good, but after the first few seconds it tasted extremely salty and had a very bad aftertaste. I went ahead with it and when Josh came home I told him what happened and thought that if I made some nacho cheese it would mask the taste. So we popped in a movie and had our little snack. Well, the cheese was good. The rest are still sitting in the freezer as Josh swears he will eat them one day.
So here is my second attempt. I remembered this time to save the baking soda for the water. :) I must say, they are (as they say here) FAB! I went weak in the knees when I took my first bite. Oh! How I missed thee! I have only been able to enjoy soft pretzles at the German Market during the holidays. I am going to have a hard time saving some for Josh!
My back is doing better now. It still hurts and I know I have to be careful, but at least I am more mobile. Yesterday I asked Josh if he wouldn't mind cleaning the tub for me before he went to work so I could take a hot bath. He said, "Only if you don't get stuck in the tub while I'm at work!" The bath definately helped and I sat on a heating pad all day.
I should add that Josh recieved his unconditional acceptance to the University of Edinburgh. I don't think we really feared that he wouldn't be accepted, but it is nice to have. Josh is happy about the unconditional part. He wont have to read Latin or French to a board before he is accepted. :) Now we just wait on Oxford and see if he gets any funding. This should all happen in April.
I am alone tonight. Josh is on one of his overnight shifts. I usually like to get settled for the evening with a cajun chicken breast made in the grill and a movie to make myself so tired I wont have a problem sleeping alone. Alas! We have been through the mid-winter blahs and the many DVDs mom and dad have been so kind to send us (as well as the ones Sam and Peter loaned us) were watched long ago. And Anne of Green Gables is on loan. *sigh* I guess I will have to READ or something. :)
Another thing I am making tradition on these solo nights is I try to bake at least one thing. Last week I baked chocolate muffins with dried cherries. Good fresh out of the oven, but a wee bit too dry after they cool. The week before I baked rye bread. I'll just say the weather was so nice the next day that we went to feed the duck. :) Tonight I tried my hand (for the second time) at pretzles. OH! I didn't tell you about the first time!
So I made the dough and everything. Realised immediately (well, after I mixed all of the ingredients) that the recipe called for instant yeast. I have not even seen instant yeast here. Since it didn't say in the instructions, I did not allow time for the yeast to become active in warm water. I didn't want to waste the ingredients, so I let it rise for a very LOOOOONG time. It did rise, but not amazingly well.
I then had to divide the dough and roll the bits to make ropes and fashion them into pretzles. Here is when I realised an even graver mistake than the yeast. I was to put 3 TBS baking soda in a skillet of water to boil (par boil?) the pretzles before baking them. I put it in the pretzles! And I doubled the recipe, so there was 6 TBS of baking soda in the pretzle dough!!
Again, I did not want to waste the dough and rolling the dough was such hard work (especially since it didn't rise much) so I went ahead and made them just to see how they would turn out. They looked pretty good and they smelled wonderful!
I had to pop onto my American Expats forum to see if I would die from so much baking soda. They know everything there! :) The initial bite was good, but after the first few seconds it tasted extremely salty and had a very bad aftertaste. I went ahead with it and when Josh came home I told him what happened and thought that if I made some nacho cheese it would mask the taste. So we popped in a movie and had our little snack. Well, the cheese was good. The rest are still sitting in the freezer as Josh swears he will eat them one day.
So here is my second attempt. I remembered this time to save the baking soda for the water. :) I must say, they are (as they say here) FAB! I went weak in the knees when I took my first bite. Oh! How I missed thee! I have only been able to enjoy soft pretzles at the German Market during the holidays. I am going to have a hard time saving some for Josh!
My back is doing better now. It still hurts and I know I have to be careful, but at least I am more mobile. Yesterday I asked Josh if he wouldn't mind cleaning the tub for me before he went to work so I could take a hot bath. He said, "Only if you don't get stuck in the tub while I'm at work!" The bath definately helped and I sat on a heating pad all day.
I should add that Josh recieved his unconditional acceptance to the University of Edinburgh. I don't think we really feared that he wouldn't be accepted, but it is nice to have. Josh is happy about the unconditional part. He wont have to read Latin or French to a board before he is accepted. :) Now we just wait on Oxford and see if he gets any funding. This should all happen in April.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Why does it always happen when I'm on holiday?!
Some people prefer to be sick on their days off so they don't have to call in sick to work. I actually prefer the other way around. I DON'T want to be sick on my holiday! Well, I'm not sick, but I am still homebound. My back is acting up. It has not been this bad in over a year. I was just bending over yesterday and *SNAP* instant pain. It was probably a bad decision to walk a mile to church and back. It wasn't that bad until I sat in the pew.
I must comment about the church we visited yesterday. First of all, there is ALWAYS tea and coffee after church. So we stayed for tea and coffee. We were nearly instantly approached by people and kept up conversation the whole time we were there. They were interested in US! Imagine that. And I wasn't made to feel like a horrible person for working at Starbucks. They invited us back for the evening service, too, but didn't make us feel pressured that we had to settle down in their church and sign up for a list of activities.
So that was a good thing. But on top of my back pain, I was feeling a bit homesick. As far as I can remember, it is the first time I had a general feeling of homesickness rather than missing people or certain things, or just the general overwhelming feeling of being in a new place and having to learn new things every day. The days are getting longer, though. I am so, so, so looking forward to summer! We are really going to enjoy summer in our new flat. We have loads of windows french doors that open up. We are close to the botanics and the river. And in just a little over 2 months my parents will be visiting! Yeah!
I must comment about the church we visited yesterday. First of all, there is ALWAYS tea and coffee after church. So we stayed for tea and coffee. We were nearly instantly approached by people and kept up conversation the whole time we were there. They were interested in US! Imagine that. And I wasn't made to feel like a horrible person for working at Starbucks. They invited us back for the evening service, too, but didn't make us feel pressured that we had to settle down in their church and sign up for a list of activities.
So that was a good thing. But on top of my back pain, I was feeling a bit homesick. As far as I can remember, it is the first time I had a general feeling of homesickness rather than missing people or certain things, or just the general overwhelming feeling of being in a new place and having to learn new things every day. The days are getting longer, though. I am so, so, so looking forward to summer! We are really going to enjoy summer in our new flat. We have loads of windows french doors that open up. We are close to the botanics and the river. And in just a little over 2 months my parents will be visiting! Yeah!
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Go Chicago!!
Da Bears finally made it into the Superbowl again after over 20 years! Yes, I can say I remember 20 years ago. YIKES!
Watch the Suerpbowl Shuffle for old times' sake. You can laugh. I did. :)
Super Bowl Shuffle - video powered by Metacafe
Watch the Suerpbowl Shuffle for old times' sake. You can laugh. I did. :)
Super Bowl Shuffle - video powered by Metacafe
Saturday, January 27, 2007
It's that time again!
In just a little over a month it will be time again to pay for Janelle's tuition. If you can help, please click on the 'make a donation' button to the right of the screen (under the yellow chat box) and give a donation via paypal. Otherwise you can send a check to my mom or Josh's mom who can deposit it into our account. When I have enough money I will wire the money to Ramil.
For those of you who don't know, I have been organising the raising of funds to pay for tuition for a wee lass in the Philippines. While public schools are available, they are overcrowded and do not offer an adequate education to help a child succeed. We are paying for Janelle to go to a private school, which means we need about $500. If you can only give $5-10 it is certainly very helpful. Josh and I usually end up paying for a large portion of this. We enjoy helping our friends in this way, but if we can get others to help that would be fantastic. There are friends and family members who have already given so generously in the past couple of years. Please consider giving just a little bit and tell a friend whom you think may be interested in helping, too.
I have started a yahoo group for those who have sponsored in the past. It contains some messages and pictures from the family. I sent some invites earlier and some have not accepted the invite. If you did not recieve the invite and are interested in joining, let me know and I can resend it.
Let me know if you have posted money to paypal or sent a check out for us.
Thanks.
For those of you who don't know, I have been organising the raising of funds to pay for tuition for a wee lass in the Philippines. While public schools are available, they are overcrowded and do not offer an adequate education to help a child succeed. We are paying for Janelle to go to a private school, which means we need about $500. If you can only give $5-10 it is certainly very helpful. Josh and I usually end up paying for a large portion of this. We enjoy helping our friends in this way, but if we can get others to help that would be fantastic. There are friends and family members who have already given so generously in the past couple of years. Please consider giving just a little bit and tell a friend whom you think may be interested in helping, too.
I have started a yahoo group for those who have sponsored in the past. It contains some messages and pictures from the family. I sent some invites earlier and some have not accepted the invite. If you did not recieve the invite and are interested in joining, let me know and I can resend it.
Let me know if you have posted money to paypal or sent a check out for us.
Thanks.
Taking Care of Business
It has been a very long, busy week, so this is the first chance I have had to talk about our trip to Glasgow Tuesday. I am happy to say that we are no longer on Josh's student visa! We now have a residence permit (limited leave to remain) for 2 years.Tuesday we had to pack up all of our important documents: passports, marriage certificate, birth certificates, bank statements, leases, proof of employment, everything you could possibly think of. We didn't want to miss a thing. We didn't want to shell out the payment and have them say "Oh, you don't have such and such" and lose that large wad of money (yes, they keep it if you are denied the visa). Do you know how unnerving it is walking around with all of the important stuff on you? If we didn't have this done in person we would have to send it in and not have it in our possession for up to 14 weeks. No thank you!
Anyways, we trecked over to Glasgow where we had an 'appointment' (arrive between 1 and 3) at the Home Office. We had to go through airport security. They kept our Motrin and my compact mirror. They kept Josh's mobile, but not mine (guess I look innocent enough). Then we had to sit in this room on metal parkbenches. No music. No TV. It was so cold and uninviting...and BOOORING! And, of course, no mobiles so I couldn't play my games. :( We waited for ages for our names to be called.
While waiting we were able to hear everyone else's business broadcasted through this speaker. Well, it wasn't intended to be broadcasted, but we could certainly hear what was going on. They had speakers on either side of the glass so you could hear what the person on the other side of the glass was saying to you. We felt bad as they denied one guy his visa, but we also wondered about his IQ level. He was getting his PhD and working full-time (strictly forbidden). Things seemed to be going smoothly with most people, so our fears of being denied arbitrarily were dissiminating.
When our names were called a nice man looked through our documents. He was funny and eased the tense situation. He told us what we already know about this visa: only 2 years, no recourse public funds. This was just a step to make sure we had our documents together. Then he directed us to a window where we could be rid of my 3 1/2 week's wage. Then we waited again. When our names were called our documents were looked over again and we were told the same important information: only 2 years, no recourse to public funds. We were told to wait another 30 minutes to get our passports back.
So we waited a total of 3 hours for this wee piece of paper in our passports. It's good to have that done. Our employers are relieved (and so are we!) as our visas expired 31 Jan. If we were somehow denied we would have had to pack up in leave in one week!
We were told one thing I still think is funny. The Fresh Talent Initiative is a Scottish program and rather contraversial because it doesn't include England. Englands population is not suffering like Scotland's, so Scotland came up with this initiative to allow graduates of Scottish universities to live and work in Scotland for 2 years. Brilliant plan. They get educated people to work and pay taxes in Scotland. They are buying products in Scotland and such and such, helping to boost the economy. Anyways...the thing I thought was funny is that while Josh is only allowed to work in Scotland, I am free to work anywhere in Britain! :) It was a bit more relaxed with me on his student visa, too. He was only allowed to work 20 hours during term, but I was allowed to work full-time.
Monday, January 15, 2007
I really miss...
Things I miss about Chicago
family and friends
the girls
Deep-dish pizza (I know, I learned how to make it, but it takes hours! and I could just call Giordano's and have one at my door in an hour!)
Paper Source
The Spice House
Jamba Juice
Cold Stone Creamery
Panera Bread
free things:
movies in the park
concerts in the park
Ravinia
library passes to museums
the lake
the lakefront path
a real autumn
a real summer
the el
neighborhood festivals
Hobby Lobby
Hancock Fabrics
Chipotle
Kohl's
a stoop to sit on or grill on
Target
Sulzer library
Lincoln Square farmer's market
Costello's
Meyer's Delicatessen
Potbelly
Millenium Park
living across from a large park
neighborhoods are like stepping into a new city (Belmont, Devon, Pilsen...)
always somewhere to go, something to do if you so desire
MLK memorial
Last night Josh and I had the opportunity to take part in a Martin Luther King, Jr memorial service at the High Kirk, St. Giles Cathedral. Our friend William is a minster there and invited us and several of his other friends to do readings and music for the service. It was a joy to take part.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Exploding smoothies
Last week I went in to work to find an explosion had happened sometime during the night at our door. This week there was another explosion, but it was inside.
It all began last night when I recieved an email about smoothies that were being recalled. I went and got them out of the fridge and proceeded to open, dump, and pitch, like we do with any food or drink that we have to bin. When I opened the smoothie it exploded all over the sink and on my clothes and face. EWW! I wasn't going to do that with 6 more smoothies, so I just binned them. We were closed and we had already taken out the rubbish and that was all that was in the bag, so I left it.
When I opened today we were walking through the dishwasher room (where said bin and smoothies were) and the girl I opened with said, "There is a peculiar smell in here." That was when I looked past her and saw smoothie sprays all the way up the wall, on the ceiling, on the floor, all over the sink and table top. It did smell really bad and I got to clean it up. Well, I cleaned what I could. I figured we would have to get one of our less vertically challenged partners to clean the ceiling. What a day! And I was so knackered! Well, it does still give me a chuckle thinking about it. :)
I have added more to my list on the last post. I hope you looked at them. I might just have to add more, later (including how to scrub crusty smoothie off the wall).
It all began last night when I recieved an email about smoothies that were being recalled. I went and got them out of the fridge and proceeded to open, dump, and pitch, like we do with any food or drink that we have to bin. When I opened the smoothie it exploded all over the sink and on my clothes and face. EWW! I wasn't going to do that with 6 more smoothies, so I just binned them. We were closed and we had already taken out the rubbish and that was all that was in the bag, so I left it.
When I opened today we were walking through the dishwasher room (where said bin and smoothies were) and the girl I opened with said, "There is a peculiar smell in here." That was when I looked past her and saw smoothie sprays all the way up the wall, on the ceiling, on the floor, all over the sink and table top. It did smell really bad and I got to clean it up. Well, I cleaned what I could. I figured we would have to get one of our less vertically challenged partners to clean the ceiling. What a day! And I was so knackered! Well, it does still give me a chuckle thinking about it. :)
I have added more to my list on the last post. I hope you looked at them. I might just have to add more, later (including how to scrub crusty smoothie off the wall).
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Things I have learned to do since moving to the UK
I'm not saying these are all directly related to living in the UK, but some are.
I'm sure the list will grow over the next few days as I think of more.
1. Convert measurements and temps. Well, I haven't learned the conversion, it is all from memory, and some of it is just guesswork. I still rely on my American measuring cups and spoons.
2. Pack my bags well enough at Costco to carry it all home on the bus.
3. Make barbecue sauce.
4. Make Chicago-style deep-dish pizza! MMM
5. Make bread.
6. Make yoghurt. (am I seeing a pattern here??)
7. Grow sprouts.
8. Translate Scots. Well, at least I can recognise the most common words used.
9. Make a mean caramel macciato...and everything else on the Starbucks menu. (wouldn't fly in the US, though)
10. To squeeze things into every imaginable space in our flat (I THOUGHT I had already learned that!).
11. Spinning wool. Well, I still haven't quite gotten the hang of it.
12. Needle felting.
13. Selling on ebay.
14. First aid, CPR included.
15. Sudoku
16. To skimp on meat and use cheaper ingredients. Use mushrooms for some recipes (bolognese) or just use less meat and more pulses (legumes) and veg and add more spices for flavour.
17. How to say 'good-bye' when you are done with your transaction at the till. It is not just a simple 'thank you.' Rather, 'cheers, that's lovely, thanks so much, bye now!' You can also add 'fantastic' and 'magic' in there somewhere.
18. My accessories for grocery shopping: backpack, shoulder bag, Tesco green bag, and wheeled carrier. Those are for larger shops. Otherwise I just get delivered.
19. Dry all of my clothes on a drying rack.
20. Queue, queue, queue. Queue for EVERYTHING!
21. Write and say the day and month backwards. (Today is 9.1 or 9 Jan)
22. Learn the currency. It was baptism by fire since I still had to look carefully at every coin when I got my job at Starbucks.
23. Say 'zed' instead of 'zee' for the last letter in the alphabet.
24. To look right, then left (then right and left and right and left, as there is no reguard for pedestrians) when crossing the street.
25. Pack my own groceries (very quickly!).
26. Turn off and on electrical equipment 'at the mains.' It took a few times of preheating the oven to find it wasn't even turned on.
27. Watch VERY carefully where I step as so many people overdrink, and they get sick, and, well, you know.
28. To do without an umbrella and just carry a hat.
29. To distiguish if it is all day rain or momentary rain.
30. Do the dishes with just one sink.
31. Use the electric kettle anytime I want hot water.
I'm sure the list will grow over the next few days as I think of more.
1. Convert measurements and temps. Well, I haven't learned the conversion, it is all from memory, and some of it is just guesswork. I still rely on my American measuring cups and spoons.
2. Pack my bags well enough at Costco to carry it all home on the bus.
3. Make barbecue sauce.
4. Make Chicago-style deep-dish pizza! MMM
5. Make bread.
6. Make yoghurt. (am I seeing a pattern here??)
7. Grow sprouts.
8. Translate Scots. Well, at least I can recognise the most common words used.
9. Make a mean caramel macciato...and everything else on the Starbucks menu. (wouldn't fly in the US, though)
10. To squeeze things into every imaginable space in our flat (I THOUGHT I had already learned that!).
11. Spinning wool. Well, I still haven't quite gotten the hang of it.
12. Needle felting.
13. Selling on ebay.
14. First aid, CPR included.
15. Sudoku
16. To skimp on meat and use cheaper ingredients. Use mushrooms for some recipes (bolognese) or just use less meat and more pulses (legumes) and veg and add more spices for flavour.
17. How to say 'good-bye' when you are done with your transaction at the till. It is not just a simple 'thank you.' Rather, 'cheers, that's lovely, thanks so much, bye now!' You can also add 'fantastic' and 'magic' in there somewhere.
18. My accessories for grocery shopping: backpack, shoulder bag, Tesco green bag, and wheeled carrier. Those are for larger shops. Otherwise I just get delivered.
19. Dry all of my clothes on a drying rack.
20. Queue, queue, queue. Queue for EVERYTHING!
21. Write and say the day and month backwards. (Today is 9.1 or 9 Jan)
22. Learn the currency. It was baptism by fire since I still had to look carefully at every coin when I got my job at Starbucks.
23. Say 'zed' instead of 'zee' for the last letter in the alphabet.
24. To look right, then left (then right and left and right and left, as there is no reguard for pedestrians) when crossing the street.
25. Pack my own groceries (very quickly!).
26. Turn off and on electrical equipment 'at the mains.' It took a few times of preheating the oven to find it wasn't even turned on.
27. Watch VERY carefully where I step as so many people overdrink, and they get sick, and, well, you know.
28. To do without an umbrella and just carry a hat.
29. To distiguish if it is all day rain or momentary rain.
30. Do the dishes with just one sink.
31. Use the electric kettle anytime I want hot water.
Friday, January 05, 2007
What Have You Done?
I saw this online, but I can't remember where.
If I answered everything very literally I would sound pretty boring. Well, I guess that would be pretty close to the truth. :)
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink - Um, does the 'bar' at Starbucks count?
02. Swam with wild dolphins -well, I swam in Florida and, uh, there were dolphins!
03. Climbed a mountain -hey, I used to LIVE on a mountain. You try walking up and down it every day for a year (loaded down with groceries) and tell me it's not a mountain!
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree -well, I've tried to see if I can wrap my arms around some very large trees
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (and survived the crush afterwards)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables -I actually managed to get two green beans from my wee plant in Chicago
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper -MANY!
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment -can't help those as a teenager
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk.
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe. -does carrying a backpack while hillwalking count?
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing -sure, I've climbed on rocks by the sea
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them -this can't be avoided in the Philippines
54. Visited Japan -does the airport count?
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day -bed's too boring. I prefer the sofa.
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest -Mom, you've put me in some contests, was this one?
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo -I've had several fake ones
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music -does Great America count? Or a recording of The Messiah?
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone -when taking care of 2 girls near the same age this cannot be avoided
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children -nearly
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours -probably sometime
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed -it was too windy
132. Touched a cockroach -does the bottom of my shoe count?
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language -tourists
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you -photography counts, I'm sure
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head -well, just the back of it
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life -nearly everyday by serving up a latta someone would kill for
If I answered everything very literally I would sound pretty boring. Well, I guess that would be pretty close to the truth. :)
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink - Um, does the 'bar' at Starbucks count?
02. Swam with wild dolphins -well, I swam in Florida and, uh, there were dolphins!
03. Climbed a mountain -hey, I used to LIVE on a mountain. You try walking up and down it every day for a year (loaded down with groceries) and tell me it's not a mountain!
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree -well, I've tried to see if I can wrap my arms around some very large trees
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (and survived the crush afterwards)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables -I actually managed to get two green beans from my wee plant in Chicago
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper -MANY!
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment -can't help those as a teenager
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk.
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe. -does carrying a backpack while hillwalking count?
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing -sure, I've climbed on rocks by the sea
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them -this can't be avoided in the Philippines
54. Visited Japan -does the airport count?
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day -bed's too boring. I prefer the sofa.
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest -Mom, you've put me in some contests, was this one?
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo -I've had several fake ones
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music -does Great America count? Or a recording of The Messiah?
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone -when taking care of 2 girls near the same age this cannot be avoided
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children -nearly
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours -probably sometime
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed -it was too windy
132. Touched a cockroach -does the bottom of my shoe count?
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language -tourists
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you -photography counts, I'm sure
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head -well, just the back of it
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life -nearly everyday by serving up a latta someone would kill for
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Our Store Was Bombed!
But no one was hurt. It happened sometime at night. I got to work at 6:30 this morning to find our door had been boarded up. Looking closer I saw that the bottom of the door and the wood all around it was totally charred. There were newpapers out on the road that were all charred as well (our papers that were left out from the day before). I saw a little note from the police so I called them up because I could not get into the store. After being transfered a zillion times they told me they had no record of the incident. After a half hour trying to get someone from the police who knew what was going on on one phone, and the other phone held to my ear trying to get my manager on the line, I finally got through to my manager.
Oh, yea. In the meantime our food order comes and I tell the guy we can't get into the store so we wont be able to accept the delivery just now. So (while I have 2 phones attached to my ears) he proceeds to get out and start to take the food out. I go over to him and tell him we cannot just leave the food outside because I don't know how long it will be before we can get it into the fridge. He's all confused and tries to get me to tell him what time we can take it. I am laughing because this is all just so bizarre and tell him that I just do not know when we will be able to get in because I cannot get ahold of anyone. He said, "Well, your food's gonna be late, then." I tell him it doesn't matter because I don't even know when we will be able to open.
So finally we end up going to one of the other stores and work there while we wait for maintainance to come. We are there for only 15 minutes before my manager shows up and takes us back to our store. It was a complete mess. There are stairs directly in front of our door and there was glass all the way at the top of the stairs. There was glass behind the bar and just everywhere. It smelled so bad in there, too. Maintainance guy had already cleaned most of the shattered glass in front of the door but the police say not to touch anything because they are sending an investigation team out. I had thought of that when I was first at the store, but I am not really sure why they didn't do that when they were there to board the door up.
So, I got done at 1:30 and we were still not open. We did a super-duper deep clean. We cleaned every single surface area, every mug, anything, ANYTHING that could possible have glass on it.
Oh, and of course, while the police and maintainance where there we get our food, milk, and weekly supplies order all at the same time. They were all stepping through the door where the glass was missing, bumping into eachother and stuff. And before we had glass in the door we had a baricade up but people kept stepping around the baricade and through the windowless door to get some coffee. We had to chase a lot of people away saying we were not open. These addicts are serious about there coffee!
It was interesting having to give a statement to the police. I also had to run home to get my camera for pictures.
Oh, yes. The police told us they caught the people that did it shortly after it happened. That is all I know. I hope it's the same people that cemented our locks during the G8 and bashed the same door in only 2 months ago.
Well, I tried to insert a picture, but blogger wont let me. You can see some on flickr.
Oh, yea. In the meantime our food order comes and I tell the guy we can't get into the store so we wont be able to accept the delivery just now. So (while I have 2 phones attached to my ears) he proceeds to get out and start to take the food out. I go over to him and tell him we cannot just leave the food outside because I don't know how long it will be before we can get it into the fridge. He's all confused and tries to get me to tell him what time we can take it. I am laughing because this is all just so bizarre and tell him that I just do not know when we will be able to get in because I cannot get ahold of anyone. He said, "Well, your food's gonna be late, then." I tell him it doesn't matter because I don't even know when we will be able to open.
So finally we end up going to one of the other stores and work there while we wait for maintainance to come. We are there for only 15 minutes before my manager shows up and takes us back to our store. It was a complete mess. There are stairs directly in front of our door and there was glass all the way at the top of the stairs. There was glass behind the bar and just everywhere. It smelled so bad in there, too. Maintainance guy had already cleaned most of the shattered glass in front of the door but the police say not to touch anything because they are sending an investigation team out. I had thought of that when I was first at the store, but I am not really sure why they didn't do that when they were there to board the door up.
So, I got done at 1:30 and we were still not open. We did a super-duper deep clean. We cleaned every single surface area, every mug, anything, ANYTHING that could possible have glass on it.
Oh, and of course, while the police and maintainance where there we get our food, milk, and weekly supplies order all at the same time. They were all stepping through the door where the glass was missing, bumping into eachother and stuff. And before we had glass in the door we had a baricade up but people kept stepping around the baricade and through the windowless door to get some coffee. We had to chase a lot of people away saying we were not open. These addicts are serious about there coffee!
It was interesting having to give a statement to the police. I also had to run home to get my camera for pictures.
Oh, yes. The police told us they caught the people that did it shortly after it happened. That is all I know. I hope it's the same people that cemented our locks during the G8 and bashed the same door in only 2 months ago.
Well, I tried to insert a picture, but blogger wont let me. You can see some on flickr.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
New Year Dinner
Tomorrow would be the traditional big dinner with family, but I am working all day tomorrow. I am pretty tired of big dinners now anyways, so today we used Josh's Christmas present. I found a new Le Creuset fondue pot at a charity shop for a mere 8 quid! Josh had been saying he really wanted to fondue again, so I couldn't pass this up. It's also a chance for me to take a break, as fondue prep is Josh's job. :) We just did a simple cheese fondue with apples and bread. Yummy!
Maybe I should start a foodie blog! :)
I think that will be about it for our New Year's celebrations. It seems that the rain will hinder us from seeing an fireworks. And I don't think we will do any first-footing. Here is a wee article on Hogmanay. If the rain keeps up, there wont be much reveling tonight!
Do my photos look really digital to you? Not sure why they are doing that.
Feeling ambitious
I'm on a kick. I'm making all sorts of things I wouldn't ever have thought of making before.
I bought a yoghurt maker a couple of days ago. I finally had the chance to make it last night. I didn't realise how easy this would be! But then when I was eating it I was thinking, "Strange how all this is is milk with bacteria going wild in it." :) After I let it cool in the fridge I spooned some out for my breakfast. I sweetened it with honey and added passion fruit. I don't really care for the yoghurt here, but this tasted more like what I was used to. A bit runny, but I am told the first and second time with a new starter is sort of runny. I didn't have a problem with it. I really like how I know what went into the yoghurt. No artificial flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives. :)
I bought a yoghurt maker a couple of days ago. I finally had the chance to make it last night. I didn't realise how easy this would be! But then when I was eating it I was thinking, "Strange how all this is is milk with bacteria going wild in it." :) After I let it cool in the fridge I spooned some out for my breakfast. I sweetened it with honey and added passion fruit. I don't really care for the yoghurt here, but this tasted more like what I was used to. A bit runny, but I am told the first and second time with a new starter is sort of runny. I didn't have a problem with it. I really like how I know what went into the yoghurt. No artificial flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives. :)
This is my yoghurt
I also made focaccia last night. I got a Williams Sonoma baking book at Costco (Yeah, American recipes!) and Josh gave me 2 cookbooks (one being Baking Illustrated) that I asked for for Christmas. So when I was looking out for sales I picked up a stoneware bowl set to make my bread in. The focaccia I made last night has caramelised red onions, garlic, rosemary, and sea salt on the top.
Along the lines of bread, I started sourdough bread a couple of days ago. Tomorrow I can make my sponge and bake the bread on Tuesday.
I am also going back to growing sprouts. I am doing alfalfa just now, but I plan to venture out more and try lentils, chickpeas, and others. Blogger wont let me upload any more photos, so I'll let you browse my blog for the sprouts I made previously.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Torchlight Procession
Last night we took part in the torchlight procession with some friends. £5 pays for a torch and the proceeds go to charity. The walk starts at parliament square on the Royal Mile and heads down the Mound, along Prince's Street, and up Calton Hill. At the top of the hill are 2 huge bonfires, one is from a Viking ship they burn, which you throw your torch into. At the end are fireworks (the Scots sure do love their fireworks!).
I did not bring my SLR. I brought my video camera instead, so I have no pictures to post. I found that I didn't need to because there are loads of fabulous pictures on flickr! Just do a search. (Be sure to search everyone's photos)
Happy New Year, all! It will be another quite holiday for us, but I am working all day New Year's Day, and it will be a busy one!
I did not bring my SLR. I brought my video camera instead, so I have no pictures to post. I found that I didn't need to because there are loads of fabulous pictures on flickr! Just do a search. (Be sure to search everyone's photos)
Happy New Year, all! It will be another quite holiday for us, but I am working all day New Year's Day, and it will be a busy one!
Friday, December 22, 2006
Christmas Time??
Is it really almost Christmas? I told a customer today that I can't believe I can count on one hand the number of days til Christmas. I know we say that every year. "It comes so fast!" But really, you have to go shopping to feel Christmas here. And even then, it is still somehow different. There is no snow. We had a couple of near bone chilling days, but it is quite mild today. I went outside with a fleece! (I hear it is quite warm in the Chicagoland area, too) And the biggest thing is, THERE ARE VIRTUALLY NO CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!! You can look in people's windows where you might spot a Christmas tree (they don't put them up a month early like Americans do, more like 1 or 2 weeks), but that is about it. I don't walk down the street and say "Ah, yes. It's Christmas."
Now, I will admit that if you head up the hill to city centre it would feel a bit more Christmasy. There's George St with it's cone shaped Christmas trees and Prince's St with all the shoppers (think Michigan Ave at Christmas!) and, of course, the German market and the winter wonderland. http://www.edinburghschristmas.com/index.html (but winter wonderland is really just a carnival). I did enjoy those festivities last year, but I just can't be bothered this year. Go to the flickr site and do a search for edinburgh christmas (you can search my photos, but be sure to do a search in everyone's photos). You will find some fun photos.
Well, we've got our Charlie Brown Christmas tree. He's a wee potted tree that we picked up at B&Q, sort of like Home Depot. We got our ornaments and lights there, to go along with the few sentimental orniments I brought. I just can't bring myself to pay full price for Christmas decorations, and since we didn't have a tree last year and we didn't know where we would be this year, I didn't buy any when they were on sale. It kind of makes me sad to think of all the nice ornaments and decorations we have back in the States and we have to do with so little here. It's like that with everything. But I think living here has taught us that we can live more simply. It's a good thing.
If I don't post before then, have a Happy Christmas everyone! We will be having a wee Christmas Eve lunch here with a few others as Josh is working Christmas day. You will be in our thoughts.
Now, I will admit that if you head up the hill to city centre it would feel a bit more Christmasy. There's George St with it's cone shaped Christmas trees and Prince's St with all the shoppers (think Michigan Ave at Christmas!) and, of course, the German market and the winter wonderland. http://www.edinburghschristmas.com/index.html (but winter wonderland is really just a carnival). I did enjoy those festivities last year, but I just can't be bothered this year. Go to the flickr site and do a search for edinburgh christmas (you can search my photos, but be sure to do a search in everyone's photos). You will find some fun photos.
Well, we've got our Charlie Brown Christmas tree. He's a wee potted tree that we picked up at B&Q, sort of like Home Depot. We got our ornaments and lights there, to go along with the few sentimental orniments I brought. I just can't bring myself to pay full price for Christmas decorations, and since we didn't have a tree last year and we didn't know where we would be this year, I didn't buy any when they were on sale. It kind of makes me sad to think of all the nice ornaments and decorations we have back in the States and we have to do with so little here. It's like that with everything. But I think living here has taught us that we can live more simply. It's a good thing.
If I don't post before then, have a Happy Christmas everyone! We will be having a wee Christmas Eve lunch here with a few others as Josh is working Christmas day. You will be in our thoughts.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Dark Days
We are nearing the shortest day of the year, or the longest night. Whichever you prefer. Officially, sunrise today is at 8:41am and sunset is at 3:39pm, but don't let that fool you. There really is not that much sun these days. The sun does not rise very high. We have loads of windows in our front room, but there is a building 4 stories high across the street from us. The sun does not rise above that building. When I am walking towards the Mound, I can see the sun hiding behind the castle. Beyond the Mound, when walking south I have to wear sunglasses in order to see because the sun is directly in my face (of course, that is on the occassional non-overcast day).
Better than last year...
Last year, this time of year was incredibly hard for me. I was crying nearly everyday and had a hard time leaving the flat when I wasn't working. There were a lot of factors: rough time at work, still adjusting to a new country, holiday season without friends and family. But I think the biggest factor that sort of just loomed over all of the others and made them all worse was the lack of sun. I was fairly prepared for it from what everyone was telling me, but it was still such a SHOCK! I heard that the first year is really a shocker, but it gets better after that.
Just last week I was thinking to myself: It's kind of dark now, isn't it? That is how unnoticable it was to me this time round! Well, of course I noticed it, but it wasn't dreadful and I didn't dwell on it. And again, there are a lot of other factors that have helped me cope better this year: we have friends! work is still rough, but I am in a possition to make change and my coworkers appreciate my work, our flat isn't a cold little dark hole of a place.
So, thank you to those of you who helped us through the first year. Last year at this time Josh was saying that he couldn't let his wife go through another winter here. But now I couldn't imagine leaving so soon!
On a lighter note: I have just made my first dried orange slices to string on our wee tree. If only I could figure out how to string them so they don't all slide together...
Better than last year...
Last year, this time of year was incredibly hard for me. I was crying nearly everyday and had a hard time leaving the flat when I wasn't working. There were a lot of factors: rough time at work, still adjusting to a new country, holiday season without friends and family. But I think the biggest factor that sort of just loomed over all of the others and made them all worse was the lack of sun. I was fairly prepared for it from what everyone was telling me, but it was still such a SHOCK! I heard that the first year is really a shocker, but it gets better after that.
Just last week I was thinking to myself: It's kind of dark now, isn't it? That is how unnoticable it was to me this time round! Well, of course I noticed it, but it wasn't dreadful and I didn't dwell on it. And again, there are a lot of other factors that have helped me cope better this year: we have friends! work is still rough, but I am in a possition to make change and my coworkers appreciate my work, our flat isn't a cold little dark hole of a place.
So, thank you to those of you who helped us through the first year. Last year at this time Josh was saying that he couldn't let his wife go through another winter here. But now I couldn't imagine leaving so soon!
On a lighter note: I have just made my first dried orange slices to string on our wee tree. If only I could figure out how to string them so they don't all slide together...
Saturday, December 16, 2006
The Snowman
Thursday was a night out for Josh and I. We went to see The Snowman. http://www.eft.co.uk/whatson/events_display.asp?articleid=387 We don't get to go to theater much here. Well, we've only been once before. It was fun to get dressed up, even though most people there were casual. Actually, most people there were under 12. Well, not really, but there were still a lot of kids.
I am still baffled by the theater culture here. I am shocked when I see people bring out their own container of popcorn or a burger they brought in. During intermission they sell ice cream cones. It seems like such a disrespect for theater to me, but it is just different here. It is more casual. It is like going to cinema.
I am still baffled by the theater culture here. I am shocked when I see people bring out their own container of popcorn or a burger they brought in. During intermission they sell ice cream cones. It seems like such a disrespect for theater to me, but it is just different here. It is more casual. It is like going to cinema.
Starbucks Christmas Party
I organised a Christmas party for my workmates. We haven't done anything like it since I started there. It was nice to enjoy an informal atmosphere of our flat to chat, laugh, and EAT! We had a potluck and it was pretty international, just like our store: Charlotte brough lasagna, Danny bought quiche, Josh (not my husband. confusing, I know) brought CANADIAN french toast with MAPLE syrup, Effie brough sushi (which she made herself!), Maria brought a Spanish omlette (actually 2, which she took the time to remake because she had a disaster with the first ones), Ruth brought a divine pudding (dessert). I can't remember the name of it, but it was basically whipped cream with lemon and raspberry. MMM!
I made my (now) famous Chicago-style deep-dish pizza and cinnamon rolls. It is so much fun to make that pizza for people here. Their eyes get so big when they see it, then they roll to the back of their head when they eat it. :) The guys were telling me I ought to open a pizza and cinnamon roll cafe. Then they said they would all work for me. HEE! :)
We also had a Secret Santa. Mine was not so secret as Josh told me the day before that he bought my present. :P It was great fun. When everyone signed up they put suggestions for what they would like to get. We passed out the presents randomly. Each person opened the present and we all had to guess who it was for, based on what we knew of eachother. Of course when Danny opened an obscure DVD and started talking about who was the director and everything we knew that it was definately for him.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
I can relate!
Someone on a Starbucks forum has this for their avatar : Warning: unattended children will be given a free espresso and a puppy. :) :) :)
At our local mail sorting centre there is a sign which reads: Our staff have the right to work without being abused by customers. (AMEN!!)
Am I Cursed?!?
Why is it so hard for me to get a job with decent working conditions? Why do I have to deal with the dilema of staying with a job I love, or quitting in order to keep my sanity?
At our local mail sorting centre there is a sign which reads: Our staff have the right to work without being abused by customers. (AMEN!!)
Am I Cursed?!?
Why is it so hard for me to get a job with decent working conditions? Why do I have to deal with the dilema of staying with a job I love, or quitting in order to keep my sanity?
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